A Proposal for Optimized Design of Multistage Compressors

The aim of the paper is to provide a methodology for optimum design of axial flow multistage compressors derived from a flow model, previously defined by the author, that takes into account the effects of several geometrical parameters on blade losses and on the growth of end-wall boundary layers and secondary vorticities. The optimization is performed by means of a “Quasi-Newton” algorithm that controls an “Augmented Lagrangian Function” with the objective of maximizing efficiency for assigned values of total to total head. The paper outlines the theoretical approach and the main practical feature of the methodology, the latter consisting of a performance optimization by imposing even slight variations to the geometry of an existing compressor.